10 Worst Foods You Think Are Healthy – But Aren’t!5
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10 Worst Foods You Think Are Healthy – But Aren’t!

Did you know that many of the foods that are marketed as ‘healthy’ are actually damaging your health? Here at PrettyLookBook, we want everyone to be Pretty from Inside and Out, so we want our peeps to be healthy and aware of what they’re eating!

So, just for you, we brought you the list of 10 worst foods that you thought were healthy foods!

1. Popcorn

Light, fluffy, goes well with even a bad movie….but, is it as good for you health? Store-bought popcorn can have a significant amount of trans fat known to increase inflammation and contribute to high cholesterol and plaque build-up. So, to have a healthy alternative, make your own popcorn and avoid the unhealthy fats.

2. Low-Fat Yogurt

Yogurt: Have you ever gone on a diet and switched to low fat dairy to cut out some calories and fat? Turns out, ‘low-fat’ products are burdened with artificial sugars and refined carbs to make up for the ‘low-fat’ taste. The result? A much unhealthier, artificial product, to be sure to avoid. Plus, numerous studies show that actually full fat dairy (not low-fat) promotes satiety and weight loss!

3. Gluten-Free Cereal

Are you up to date with the gluten-free trend? It is true that many people benefit from eliminating gluten, but have you wondered what the gluten is usually substituted with? Many mainstream companies replace gluten with a cheap alternative – corn. Corn is genetically modified and can cause system disturbances at times worse than gluten. Most cheap gluten-free cereals on the market are burdened with corn. What’s worse is that these cereals are packed with a lot of sugar.

Corn + sugar, spells a recipe for disaster for your blood sugar levels for the rest of the day. How about that for a healthy start?

4.Ketchup

This one is sneaky. It may seem like ketchup is just packed with tomatoes, adding flavour to your meal, but, it actually adds more harm than good. Besides having tomatoes, this condiment packs in a significant amount of sugar, high fructose corn syrup and artificial flavours. This is harmful because these ingredients mess around with your blood sugar levels, leading to weight gain. Also, the high sugar content makes you eat more, leading to over-eating and weight gain.

5. Ranch Dressing

Are you about to reach for a salad or dip your veggies in your fave ranch dressing? Turns out it is one of the worst foods that you thought was healthy! Ranch dressing or dip contains unhealthy sugars (maltodextrin), modified food starch, artificial flavours and the worst of all- MSG. MSG can negatively impact the immune system leading to allergies, migraines, digestive issues and weight gain. Avoid this one at all costs!

6. Diet Cola/ Soda

Are you under impression that if you’re on a diet you should drink Diet Sodas? Please rethink this! This is one of the most harmful drinks as nothing about it is “diet-consious”. These drinks are filled with aspartame – a known carcinogen, loads of sugar – which leads to weight gain and diabetes as well as artificial flavours and phosphoric acid which can promote kidney stones.

7. Lunch Meat

Are you getting at least part of protein from lunch meat? It may seem like a healthy option but it is far from it! Lunch meat (chicken, ham, roast beef, salami, pepperoni, etc.) are burdened with tremendously high amounts of sodium which contributes to high blood pressure. They also have sodium nitrate, which is a potential carcinogen and maltodextrin – a form of unhealthy sugar. What’s more is that this type of food is prone to listeria bacteria growth. Stay away!

8. Bagel

Ever reached for a bagel with cream cheese for ‘light breakfast’? A simple bagel can have up to 59g of refined carbohydrates – which translates into sugar once it enters your digestive system, and unless you’re on the run at that moment, this sugar gets stores as fat. Most of the bagels on the market are made with refined flours to the point that all the nutrition from the grains has been lost. This can actually lead to malnutrition, despite all these calories! Yikes!

9. Coffee Drink

Do you think coffee boosts your metabolism and curbs your appetite, so a little bit of syrup or whipped cream won’t hurt? Think again! Just a medium sized late with sugar-free syrup supplies over 40g of carbohydrates, not to mention artificial flavours and sugar. This has a significant impact on the blood sugar levels , your hormones as well as the liver health. The acidity from coffee contributes to inflammation and diseases such as arthritis and osteoporosis.
Stay away from coffee drinks!

10. Peanut Butter

A peanut butter toast or dip with fruits may be your staple and comfort food, but it is one of the worst foods! Peanuts contain a high amount of Omega-6’s which may lead to inflammation. What’s worse is that out of all nuts, peanuts are very susceptible to mold growth on them, (unless organic and can cause many nasty infections. Nobody wants that!

Were you surprised to learn about some of these seemingly ‘healthy foods’ to be actually worst foods? Do you have an experience to share about any other ‘worst’ food that’s considered ‘healthy’? We’d love to hear your comments!